Tag Archives: old town

Introducing the 10th part of our Travelogue recording our stay in Iran's oldest city Yazd and our quick hitchhike to Tabas: In this edition we explore the unique architecture of the hottest city in Iran and learn more about the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism. Then we get back into desert hitchhiking as we search out the town of Tabas and take a photo that would be the source of trouble a few days later ...

Losing yourself in the maze of mud bricked kuches (lanes) of the ancient city of Yazd is one of the highlights of any trip to Iran. Explore the narrow winding alleys and search out the simple courtyards, covered walkways and ornately carved wooden doors that make it such an atmospheric place ...

Madrid on foot: Our free walking tours of the wonderful Spanish capital of Madrid. Madrid is such a big place that we have divided it into three separate tours (Culture & Green, Churches & Empire, Downtown & Bohemian areas) for your ambling pleasure...

Segovia on foot: Our walking tour of the wonderful Spanish city of Segovia. The best way to spend a day and all for free, including monument guide, information, opening times and prices, so let's take a stroll..

Granada on foot: Our walking tour of the wonderful Spanish city of Granada. The best way to spend a day and all for free, including monument guide, information, opening times and prices, so let's take a stroll...

Orientation

Salamanca‘s old town, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage city in 1988, is relatively compact and can be visited on foot. Framed by Paseo San Vicente to the west, Av Mirat to the north, Paseo Canalejas to the east and the Tormes River to the south, most of the city’s monuments and attractions are contained within. The centre of the old town is the breathtaking Plaza Mayor, to the west is the Campo San Francisco the city’s first public gardens and to the south the world famous university and cathedrals. Estación de Salamancathe city’s train station is located north east of the old town along Paseo Estación and the bus station, Estación de autobuses de Salamanca, is north west of the old town on Av Filiberto Villalobos. Most of the Salamanca’s suburbs are north of the old town and there is a large city park, Parque de los Jesuitas, to the east.

There are several cities in the world whose architecture has been influenced by three great civilisations: Christian, Jewish and Muslim. There are also cities whose charming stone architecture dating back to the Middle Ages has been appreciated and protected as a UNESCO World Heritage site. But how many of them can take pride in having a perfectly preserved soaring Roman aqueduct in the middle of the old town surrounded by 3km of stone medieval city walls? I can assure you that not many of them have a dream-like castle which served as the model for the Disneyland castle, either. In Segovia you have all these dished out on a silver plate, garnished with the friendliness of its inhabitants and served with a free tapa on the side.

León, home to around 130,000 people, is the capital and largest city of the León province. Founded as a Roman military encampment, the city has been occupied for over two thousand years and is one of the jewels of Castilla, mixing a heady blend of romanesque architecture, medieval streets and a large, student driven, café culture.